1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of stringed musical instruments of the bass viol family, and more specifically to apparatus for extending downwardly the musical range of at least one string to preselected lower pitch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a player of a stringed musical instrument such as the bass viol is limited in the range and the combination of tones and pitches that can be produced with the standard instrument. In this, the pitches of the strings are limited by their tension, mass and vibrating length, the lengths being varied downwardly (the pitches of the strings being varied upwardly) by the player. Sometimes it is desirable to extend the low range, that is, that of the unfingered open string, of a particular string while playing, when it is impractial to de-tune the instrument, otherwise reduce the tension in the string or add still another string. This is true in particular of the lowest bass string of which there is not pitch overlap in a lower string.
Apparatus is known in the art capable of varying the pitch of a stringed instrument upwardly by increasing the tension of the string. This does not, however, solve the problem of intermittently extending the low range of an instrument. Furthermore, with the use of such tension varying apparatus, it is very difficult to establish the desired (changed) pitch precisely. The tension-varying apparatus known in the prior art do not lock onto the string at the desired tension but must be constantly held by the player, thereby necessitating the constant use of a finger, hand or foot with the inherent possibilities of fatigue or vibration causing an instability in the tone achieved. Tension varying apparatus also work only to increase the tension and hence increases the pitch of the particular tuned string.